


Legend of Old, Souls Meet Anew

by AtThisPoint



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Requited Unrequited Love, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmates, beware of fluff, summaries are hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 19:15:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16270619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtThisPoint/pseuds/AtThisPoint
Summary: Legend is that on the night before a person's 22nd birthday, they switch bodies with their soulmate. No one has thought much of it since hearing those stories in the creche, but these two are in for quite the shock when they wake up in the morning.





	Legend of Old, Souls Meet Anew

**Author's Note:**

> Characters for sure aren't mine, but I must unfortunately claim every and all mistakes as my own
> 
> \- - indicates thought, italics indicate bond speech

Among the non-Force sensitive, there is a legend that in the middle of the night before a person’s 22 birthday, they somehow switch places with their soulmate or mates. Those people are almost correct in their belief. In truth, this switch occurs when the younger or youngest turns 22, and it is not a switch as most people imagine it. It is not that the bodies switch locations, but rather that the soul within switches into a different body. Ritual expects that the people try to leave clues and find hints of their own to find each other again after they switch back.

                But, as time went on, this occurrence became a rarity even among the Force sensitive. People still bonded with each other, but not at the same rate nor was it to be sure that their chosen was truly the other half of their soul. That is not to say it never happened again, but when such things occurred they were few and far between.

                The last time it happened among the Jedi, it was between two of their most powerful. One was strong in the ways of the Living Force, as is common, and the other dealt with ridicule for their devout following of and strength in the Unifying Force. Such was the combined strength in the two, that when they were together they created a formidable pair, both sides of the Force coming together in a devastating manner for any who dared stand against them. They brought about a reformation of the Jedi Order’s views on attachments. But the changes were not allowed to stay. With the murder of the pair, the changes were dropped, returning to its stout and unchanging ways. But the two, upon meeting in the Force, vowed to return when they could, and bring about a permanent change they had strived for the first time. But their life and work had turned into a myth, a story for creche children to hear as a warning against attachments. Only one remained who could remember these souls as the real thing they were.

                And so we come to our story. The two have been reborn and are about to bring change to the stagnant Order, no matter if they must go through hell and high water to manage it.

                The one strong of the Unifying Force went to sleep on the eve of his 22 name day, and was not inclined to believe that anything would have changed upon his awakening the next morning, for he believed the legend to be merely the story the Jedi of old had tried to make it.

                He could not have been more wrong.

 

When Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi woke, he groaned and rolled over, shoving his head into his pillow with more force than was probably necessary. After a few minutes, he stumbled up, putting on whatever clothes were in reach, bleary eyes still mostly shut against the pervasive morning light.

                By rote, he found the meditation pad and poured himself down onto it, settling for his morning meditation. To his consternation, he found it more difficult than it should have been. Having failed this, he decided instead to take his exit, mind still focused as to why he hadn’t managed something he had been doing for almost 20 years now.

                The first thing to even slightly catch his attention in his tired morning state was his head smashing into the door frame as he attempted to pass through it. Grasping his forehead, he looked in no little confusion at the offending thing. He shook it off and moved to the kitchen, preparing the caffeinated red tea he and his Master typically preferred in the mornings. His Master, who usually would have been sitting on the couch, reading or watching the news, sometimes even just sitting there, was missing from the old thing, but Obi-Wan took no notice of this fact.

                Had he been paying more attention to any of this, he might have noticed the many things that should have warned him of the shock to come. Instead, Obi-Wan remained oblivious, as many are wont to do after waking what all would describe as a fitful night sleep.

 

Qui-Gon Jinn had long considered tales of soul mates just that: tales. He could admit to them being pleasing on occasion, and the idea of having a specific person or persons meant for you as your other half comforting, but realized that these things were told for exactly that reason: they were pleasing the hear and comforting to imagine. And as Jedi, the tales smack too much of attachment for most to be comfortable with. This being said, Master Jinn had always been a huge believer in following the will of the Force above all else, Jedi Code included.

                So when he awoke with the sun that morning, it had come as quite the surprise to find himself in a room not his own. In fact, if he wasn’t mistaken, the quarters belonged to his Padawan. It was a greater surprise, however, to find himself not within his own body. He seemed to be in his Padawan’s body.

                -Padawan’s body?- he questioned. His eyes grew wide when realization hit. -Padawan. My Padawan. Who turns 22 this day.-

                Sitting in stunned silence, he contemplated, and finally came to the decision to pay his grandmaster a visit. Surely one of the oldest Jedi would have some advice or opinion. Standing up, he threw on the robe and boots that fit his current predicament, and quietly exited their quarters, pulling the hood far over his Padawan’s -his, currently- face.

               

When the venerable green troll opened his door, it was with a lot of grumbling and “hmphs”. But when he laid his eyes upon his visitor, his ears perked up slightly, and his eyes shone in curiosity.

                “An early start to the day, you have had, hmm young Padawan Kenobi?”

                Qui-Gon did his level best to deliver his Padawan’s bruising ‘you’re so full of shit and you know it, Master’ look upon Yoda. In the past few years his Padawan had come into his own, and become more brazen and challenging of his Master for it. (Oh, he never went so far as to be disrespectful, but the two had finally found an easy friendship after the fears and hurts of the first few years of apprenticeship had been eased. He would be lying if he tried to claim that over the past year his feelings for his Padawan had taken a decidedly un-masterly turn, and nothing would ever get him to admit that he enjoyed their debates and his Padawan’s humor more than a Jedi Master probably should, but this was his Padawan, for Force’s sake. He had never intended to pursue anything more than a close friendship with the young man.)

                Yoda merely chuckled at the look, and waved him in. “Tea you will make, hmm, to make up for such an early visit to this old master?”

                Rolling his eyes, Qui-Gon made the requested tea, considering the upcoming conversation. Upon finishing, he brought the tea and some biscuits to the low table and sat where indicated upon an odd green pillow.

                “You and I both know that I’m not Obi-Wan, Master Yoda,” Qui-Gon began after they had both had the chance to sip at their tea.

                The green being tittered, replying, “Know this I do.” He gazed at him studiously, and finally continued. “Question, you have.”

                Qui-Gon raised a brow at the statement. Question? He could barely think for all the half-formed thoughts and questions floating around his brain. “Plenty. For instance: what in the Force is going on?”

                “Know the answer, I suspect you do. Heard the stories, you have.” Yoda glared at him. “His 22 name day it is. Deny you the truth?”

                “But those are stories, Master Yoda, told to creche children as a way to teach of the dangers of relationships and forming attachments!” Qui-Gon protested. “They are merely legend.”

                “So sure are you, even in this moment?”

                Qui-Gon huffed. “I woke in my Padawan’s body. I don’t know what to think or believe.”

                Yoda hummed. “Not merely stories are they, Master Qui-Gon. For many truths do such legends hold. Know this by now, you should.”

                Sighing, Qui-Gon nodded. “Perhaps. But in such matters, the lesson doesn’t always stick so easily.” -Doubt I’ll be making that mistake for a while.- He placed his now-empty cup on its saucer, and folded his lightly shaking hands together. “What should I do, Master Yoda?”

                “Go back to your quarters, you will. Meditate if you can. Prepare for the conversation that awaits you, you must.”

                Nodding again, he returned the dishes to the kitchen, and headed towards the door, the diminutive master trailing behind him. As he was about to take his leave, he turned back to Yoda with a suspicion to his gaze. “Did you know? When you forced our paths together so many times, did you know of this?”

                Yoda looked up at him, a gleam in his face. “Know I did not; know I could not. Suspect? Suspect, there might have been,” he giggled.

                Qui-Gon turned an aghast face upon the grandmaster as the door opened, and beat a hasty retreat. There was much for him to meditate upon.

                “So bad is it, to find a soulmate in a someone close to you? So bad is it to be in love and loved in return?” Yoda called to him. “For love you he does.”

                Qui-Gon absolutely did not run back to his shared quarters.

 

Obi-Wan slowly woke more as he made breakfast. The first thing that struck him as strange was his Master’s continued absence. Usually the man was up and about long before Obi-Wan ever was. As time continued and clarity kicked in as he became more aware, he realized the Force was fairly screaming at him to pay attention.

                Confused, he glanced around the living area, then checked his Master’s room for the missing man. He was in neither place. On a whim, he checked the shared bathroom, finding that empty as well. Shaking his head, he returned to the kitchen. As he went about finishing making the meal, he caught sight of his face reflected back to him. It wasn’t his face, though. It was his Master’s. The spatula he held in his hand clattered to the ground. (In the Padawan room, Qui-Gon came out of an unsatisfying meditation. That had been the signal he had been waiting for; his apprentice, -soulmate- some part of his brain whispered, had become aware of the oddity.) Obi-Wan turned as he heard approaching footsteps. Stunned silence fell as the two stared at each other.

                -That’s my body- he thought dumbly.

                “Padawan,” his Master (in his body what the kriff) said, “I think perhaps we should sit down.”     

                “Yes, Master,” he replied, startling at the deep brogue. He followed his body to the couch, and folded down awkwardly to sit on the thing. Damn, but how did his Master manage to look so graceful in this clunker of a body? Now that he had become cognizant of the change, it appeared as if the muscle memory was failing.

                Obi-Wan’s Master was giving him a critical look. “You weren’t able to meditate this morning, were you?”

                He shook his head minutely, trying not to panic. “Master, I don’t understand; what’s going on?”

                It was Qui-Gon’s turn to shake his head. “Meditate with me, Padawan,” he deflected, holding out his hands in a long-familiar gesture. “Focus on the change within and without, Obi-Wan.”

                Shifting and closing his eyes, Obi-Wan mirrored the pose, their hands hovering just millimeters apart in the space between them. Meditation came to him easier this time, but it itched in a way that it never had. But this action with his Master? It was as easy as breathing, and Obi-Wan was able to push aside the irritation and focus upon his task. He asked the Force and his body to answer his query, and upon finding them, he tumbled out of meditation, breathing heavier as his mind began to race and his cheeks to burn.

                “Padawan?” His Master’s gentle, soothing voice. “Open your eyes, Obi-Wan. Be at peace. All is well.”

                Fearing the result, but also longing for a comforting sight, he did as directed. He was looking into his Master’s concerned face. His soulmate’s face.

                “Master, I…” Obi-Wan’s voice faded, unsure of what to say. “That is, I…”

                The man smiled gently and settled into his seat. His pose spoke of nothing but the readiness and willingness to wait however long it took for his apprentice to be ready to speak. It had worked for so many other occasions, and he hoped to soothe his Padawan’s jangled nerves by going through something familiar, something they had done many times before, and would likely do many times in the future.

                Finally, Obi-Wan broke the silence. “We’re-we’re soulmates,” he said hesitantly. “We switched bodies, just as the old stories speak of.”

                Qui-Gon nodded. “Yes. As you said at one point, your place is by my side. I just don’t think either of us expected you to be quite so right.”

                Obi-Wan smiled slightly, cheeks burning ever brighter. “No. I don’t think we did.”

                There was another lull in conversation as Obi-Wan sorted his racing thoughts.

                “Master-”

                “I think, perhaps, that it would be more appropriate for you to call me by name. In private matters and when we are home, I am Qui-Gon,” he gently corrected.

                “Qui-Gon,” Obi-Wan said, testing the name out quietly. He never continued the thought.

                Finally, Qui-Gon prompted, “Obi-Wan, I know this is a shock. It’s not often one finds out that they have a soulmate, nor that their soulmate is 20 odd years their senior. I understand that this is new and might be…uncomfortable to think about right now.”

                “No!” Obi-Wan refuted, eyes flashing in worry. “No, it’s not that. I just…” he hesitated, before whispering “could I-”

                Qui-Gon caught the tendril of half formed thought and want, and felt his heart flutter as he opened his arms to his soulmate, who immediately tucked himself into his side, much as he had done as a young Padawan, before age, decorum, and embarrassment had prevented him from seeking comfort in such a way.

                “I’m not upset about this, Qui-Gon,” Obi-Wan finally muttered. “I actually find myself quite lucky in this.”

                His heart throbbed and he marveled at the depth at which his Padawan affected him. “How so, Obi-Wan?”

                Obi-Wan murmured something quietly, his embarrassment returning and leaking out into the Force.

                “What?”

                “I said that I am lucky because the Force saw fit to gift me a soulmate to whom my heart already belonged.” His cheeks were a fiery red by this point. “I had- I had planned to approach you sometime after my Knighting.”

                Qui-Gon couldn’t help the wide smile that overcame his face. “I can’t say that I had planned to approach you, but know that I feel the same way.” He pressed a soft, warm, and endearing kiss to his temple, and whispered, “Happy name day, my Obi-Wan.”

                _Better than the rock_ , he whispered teasingly along their bond.

                _Well, actually, Obi-Wan, now that you mention it…_

                Obi-Wan gave the mental equivalent of a long suffering groan. _Give it to me later. I’m too comfortable to move._

Qui-Gon snorted, and adjusted slightly, grasping his soulmate tightly. “I think I’ll take that as a compliment.”

                “Good.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me about these dorks (or anything, really) on the Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/at-this-point-who-even-knows


End file.
